Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine blade assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,260 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical turbine combustor configurations expose turbine vane assemblies, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, to these high temperatures. As a result, turbine vanes must be made of materials capable of withstanding such high temperatures. In addition, turbine vanes often contain cooling systems for prolonging the life of the vanes and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures.
Typically, turbine vanes are formed from an airfoil having an inner diameter (ID) platform at an inboard end and having an outer diameter (OD) platform at the outboard end. The vane is ordinarily includes a leading edge and a trailing edge with inner aspects of most turbine vanes typically containing an intricate maze of cooling channels forming a cooling system. The cooling channels in a vane typically receive air from the compressor of the turbine engine and pass the air through the vane. The cooling channels often include multiple flow paths that are designed to maintain all aspects of the turbine vane at a relatively uniform temperature. Providing adequate cooling to turbine vanes having large cross-sectional flow areas at the ID and OD has proven challenging.